Truth Be Told

I haven't kept up on the kitchen counter nor the entry. We still have a clean porch and dining room but this weekend, I'm going to take some time to tidy up the entry (lots of stuff from Gramma's landed there) and the kitchen bar counter area (new sewing fabrics and supplies and sewing books) is clogged up again. I am feeling encouraged...we really ARE getting there. This process was similar with learning to plan and cook meals...it took SO MUCH effort just to start turning that big ship around but then it gained momentum and became easier to move forward. I can feel things starting to come together.

Photo by Sarah, age 8
Effects by Mom, age ?

Massive Revelation!

As you know, I've been cleaning stuff out of the living room. See the photo above? Those books were in the living room...and now they are in the sunroom on the floor. I noticed this because the open space where I used to step to get to the computer is now blocked with these books. In fact, it is HIGHLY likely that when I last cleaned out the sunroom, I moved these books into the living room!

I finally get it! (I know this is way too simple, but a huge AH-HA for me)!

You see, I sell stuff online...Etsy, eBay and my own website and I occasionally use Craigslist, too. So when I see stuff I don't use any more, I think, "I can sell that". THIS IS A PROBLEM! I never actually get rid of anything because I see the value of each item and feel compelled to get something for it. I do often give things away but I need to give away MORE! Maybe a guideline if the item is over $10 I can make the effort to sell it, otherwise in the box!

What if I ignored the fact that I might be able to sell these items and just put them in the ever-present "giveaway box". In fact, if I'm short on boxes, why not just use a plastic bag...what if...once a week or every other week I made a deliberate trip to Goodwill for a drop off?!?

GOOD IDEA!

What about this idea...why not host an online garage sale...friends and family can subscribe and look over my junk! That way if anyone wants something, they can tell me! After being posted for one week, into the bag. I'm going to try it...

Removed Mantel Artwork - Living Room

So one thing leads to another and I have more ideas than I can implement!

I VACUUMED the living room

BUT

we quickly not only put the new chairs together, but dragged out the Christmas decorations. Now THAT is in process. I figure I'll get a good living room pictures AFTER January 1st!

Can't wait to receive what I ordered from Z'Gallerie (which was half the price of the item I had chosen from Crate & Barrel). The CB item was just too tall...33" which left barely any clearance between my mantel and the ceiling. Anyone with high ceilings would love it, but here it just doesn't work.

See that big bag of yarn? All leftovers and buying mistakes but going to a good home!

New Dining Room Chairs

Well, we've stashed the $15 IKEA chairs in the garage because we got some new ones (thank you so much Grampa)! As you can see (or not!) we chose a transparent chair. It really does make the room look so much bigger (which the photo doesn't really show). It was too tempting to put these new photos in contrast to the old ones.

I was really impressed with these chairs...they are quite heavy duty which is a welcome change from the cheapy ones we had before. We purchased them online sight-unseen. There were over 70 positive reviews to give us confidence and we were not disappointed. Vapor Chair from CB2.

Alert-I Can See Carpet!

Reality check...though I am cleaning the living room (and making headway!) the reality is the Christmas tree gets put up tomorrow. Which just brings in a whole lot MORE STUFF. So I've decided I won't post the after pictures of the living room until after January 1st when the tree comes down. I might post a pic with Christmas decorations, but it won't be the official after picture. Just so you know.

Living Room Update

Living Room Update...every day I just GO IN THERE and PICK UP SOMETHING. It is difficult to describe how hard this has been...it's just a room-go clean it up! Today was good as I'm really trying to bust through some clutter.

We keep our board games in our master closet. Just what we do. The games all migrate downstairs because that's where they get played. I realize there's a disconnect here...the games should live downstairs, but there just isn't room for them anywhere. (John collects games, media, music and books so we have a lot of those things)! I paid the kids to take the games upstairs...20 cents per trip. It was worth it!

I bagged up all my yarn (eeeegads! I learned to crochet this year and I have heaps of yarn everywhere!) in plastic trash bags just to get them out of the room. They moved into my bedroom, which is another story for another day. I put the two most important crochet projects (Christmas gifts) in totes which look nice and tidy. These live next to the sofa for the rare occasion that I might get to work on them.

Put a few things in the giveaway pile and can't believe how much TRASH there is-what is wrong with the people who live here!? Don't they ever put anything away!?

Decided to take the guitars upstairs and put them in the space outside Daniel's room, perfect.

Got a plastic trash bag for "Sarah" and one for "Daniel" and anything random goes in there. Also have the plastic bag for trash going and put Sarah's dollies in a box so they are together. Took the curtain rod upstairs as I won't be installing the curtain panels until after Christmas. Moved the sofa over to make room for the tree. Removed a lamp from the room that we purchased for a different house. Though I love the lamp, it just doesn't belong here so I will donate it. Also got brave and decided to donate the HUGE STACK of unused homeschool curriculum that I purchased and decided I didn't like. That stack has been collecting dust near the woodstove and I feel like I lost 5 pounds making that one decision!

We ordered new dining room chairs and they are still in these huge boxes. Tomorrow my goal is to VACUUM the living room and put the chairs together (yippppeeeee)!

Sadly, the entry way is clogged again, but I know why. John brought home several boxes of media from his dad's house and I received an extremely large box full of Christmas presents that I must unpack and wrap this weekend. So, even though it is messy, I realize it is truly temporary. Kitchen is looking shabby, but that is temporary as well as I've been off my routine this past week.

Have way too many library books on the floor so that problem needs a solution. I'm considering emptying 5 cubbies to make room for BOOKS. Would REALLY like to put library books on a shelf (that doesn't exist) right outside Daniel's room where the guitars are but can't find the right size.

So there's my update. Sad but true. I shall take some photos tomorrow (hopefully) of the vacuumed carpet. Oh the thought!